The Witch in the East
by memillionthdollar
Summary: Dark times have come to Munchkinland. Elphaba Thropp, once heir to her family title, has become nothing more than a slave to the cruel Witch that overthrew her father years ago. The lonely girl's world is thrown for a loop when she meets a strange Winkie boy in the outskirts of her home. Fiyeraba AU.
1. The Witch

**~oz ONE zo~**

It had been five years since the Witch arrived in Munchkinland.

Elphaba stashed her book into her pillowcase, molding the flimsy and worn pillow around the tome to better conceal it. The sun was peeking out of the early morning sky through the only window she had and she had spent too much time idling. She had read and reread the pages of that book more than she could count and yet she had let herself get so dumbly lost in the pages. She was supposed to be up before dawn, things were supposed to be finished by now.

She blew out her candle, really just a pile of wax drippings and a wick that she was able to collect in secret, and placed it up on the barren shelf. Her bare feet leapt up the stairs of the basement and pushed the heavy door open. The first floor of what used to be the Governor's mansion had been cloaked in darkness; windows had been boarded up and curtains had been nailed shut. Old furniture sat in heaps, rotting away in corners of the manse. It smelled pungent; like dead mice. She ran to the table in the center of what used to be the drawing room, upon the table stood a small stone bowl filled with an assortment of herbs and flora soaking in a strange solution.

"No, no, no." She muttered to herself, frantic as she drained the mixture in a nearby sifter, "Please be alright."

The liquid was a dark and muddy brown; this was noted as she transferred the drained substance into a clear glass jar. She held it up for inspection. Was brown good? She should have been more careful, it was supposed to be drained before the sun came up but she was stupid enough to convince herself that she could finish a chapter.

Above her the floor creaked. Her breath caught in her throat and she moved around to the opposite end of the table where the bones of a mouse waited in its own jar. She fished around for the skull missing it among the many small bones in her panic. _This should have been done already._ The floor continued to creak, this time nearer to the stairs and something began its descent. She found the skull and dropped it into a tube of acidic syrup waiting nearby, let out a sigh of relief and backed away to grab the broom.

She tried not to look at the Witch as she landed at the bottom of the stairs, Elphaba had never gotten used to the sight of her. The Witch had been plump when she arrived; round and even a little charming. Elphaba likened her look to that of a grandmother. The years and the spells had dried her up, though. Her eyes sunk deep into her head and her skin turned leathery; her fingers were nothing but bone and flesh with a jagged black nail at the end. She still dressed in the finery she had arrived in but she had let them grow dull with age. She clutched a cumbersome green book in her hands.

The Witch began her work at the table without any word to her servant, studying the solutions Elphaba had mucked up. The green girl made herself busy on the other side of the room using the blunt end of the broom to collect cobwebs. The Witch picked up the jar of the muddy liquid and eyed it with suspicion. Elphaba could feel her clear pupils glaring into her back. There was a low, inhuman growl from the Witch.

The bony woman began her work. Elphaba did not like to watch. She abandoned the scene, broomstick in hand and made for another room. Quietly, she grabbed herself a jar and tucked what webbing she could find into it. She looked around what used to be her family's library and mourned the loss of all the good books. A crow pierced through the only shutters in the house that had not been nailed shut and perched itself on a forgotten armchair. As she was accustomed to, she ran to the window and shut it immediately. She and the crow stared at each other like old enemies.

A shriek came from the other room, accompanied by a crash. The crow cawed fiercely. Elphaba's stomach lurched and she ran back towards the clamor. The Witch stood above the now overturned table, shattered glass and wood at her feet. Her eyes, void of color, met Elphaba's.

"You did something wrong." Her voice sounded like two snakes hissing in tandem.

Elphaba gulped down her bile, "I only did what you told me."

A force picked her up a foot off the floor and sent her crashing back down. A spell book lifted itself off of a pile and smashed itself across her face. Through gritted teeth she muttered a "Sorry" as she was hauled to her feet by invisible hands.

"Useless." The Witch shrieked as Elphaba ran to clean the mess of broken glass. A bit of acid touched and burned her fingers; she grimaced and began using her ragged dress as a glove. She stood to toss the shards of glass into the wastebasket but a rough gust of win snapped at her hand and made them drop. She looked up to meet the Witch's milky-white eye; a gnarled finger was pointed toward the direction of the door. Elphaba frowned but understood the Witch's wishes. Fearing any more of the woman's wrath she made for the door.

She ran down the hallway quick as she could to the main entrance. Elphaba opened it a crack, barely enough for her to squeeze by it. There was a hiss from behind her as a sliver of light fell onto the dusty hardwood. In the morning light now, she slammed the door shut and let out a frustrated shriek.

Months! It had taken her months to gather those flowers and herbs for that forsaken potion. She still had scrapes and bruises on her from her last encounter with the forest that surrounded Munchkinland and she was now heading right back into it.

She ripped off her apron and rammed it into the rough stone path beneath her. The crow made its appearance, circling her head. She swatted the thing away and reached for a tin bucket kept hanging next to the door. With another swipe at the crow she made her way down the road that used to shine a bright yellow into the mouth of the woods.

 **~oz ONE zo~**


	2. The Town that Hid

**~oz TWO zo~**

With the sun came the townsfolk. In the night you would think Munchkinland was a ghost town as the residents boarded their homes and hid. The night was when the Witch traveled.

Elphaba moved past a house that sat leagues away from the mansion, an unassuming but comfortable home that maintained itself even in the darkest of times. A small pot of daisies were growing beneath the window. Elphaba checked the skies for the crow, searching for its black shape in the light of the morning. It seemed to have better things to do than to follow her. Satisfied, her green fingers curled and rapped on the window shutters.

A short man peeked out from behind the shutter, smiled and pushed it open, "Lady Thropp, good morning."

Elphaba scowled, "Don't call me that. You don't know what she'd do if she heard you call me that."

The man apologized softly and extended his hand out, resting in his palm was a soft and bruised apple, "Have you eaten today?"

Elphaba shook her head as her stomach rumbled, "I'm fine, keep your food." She glanced around again to check for spying eyes or ears, "How is my… how is she?"

"Lady Nessarose is fine, she hasn't woken up yet. I think she's growing fond of my son."

Elphaba gave a sad smile, "Well make sure Boq treats her well."

"Do you want to see her?" He asked, still holding the fruit out as an offer.

Elphaba's eyes widened and she wiped at her brow nervously, "No… No, not today. Tell her I said hello, I should be off."

She stepped back onto the path; several Munchkinlanders were cautiously stepping out of their homes now and she preferred not to be seen this way. The Eminent Thropp had never grown used to the looks that followed her. Her green skin aside, she didn't enjoy the shame of walking about in her rags. The townsfolk didn't exactly dress in finery, they were a simple people and their attire suited that, but she couldn't help the shame.

On the edge of the woods now her stomach groaned again. She knew she should have taken that apple. _I should stop being so proud._

The trees before her were foreboding; stories of the creatures that lurked behind them were enough to scare any Munchkinlander from escaping to a kinder corner of the world. She did not know which stories were true but she had encountered enough danger in these woods to convince herself that something worse waited in the deeper parts. She reached instinctively for her knife and realized she had forgotten it in the chaos of the morning. If she wasn't nervous before then she was now.

It was her own fault for taking so long that morning; she knew it was her own fault for mucking up the potion. Her fingers tightened their grip around the tin bucket in her hand and she took her first steps into the darkness.

 **~oz TWO zo~**


	3. The Boy in the Woods

**~oz THREE zo~**

The trees grew around her like claws, cutting the light of the sun above her into jagged shards. Elphaba swallowed down her nerves and pursued into the thickets in search of what she needed. The wildflowers and rosehips wouldn't be hard to find, there was a patch of them every three feet once you got deep enough into the forest. Sage would be a little harder to find and she was sure mandrake would be near impossible to cultivate till autumn. Even if she found one it would have to fit the Witch's standards. Spells and potions were fickle things, the wrong ingredient could throw it all off.

Up ahead of her was a break in the trees, a small clearing. She pushed through a set of bushes, her ankles scraping against the branches as she did. She looked up at the canopy of leaves above her as she set her bucket down hoping for the sight of…

Fruit! She thanked Ozma for her luck at the sight of a solitary pear dangling low on a nearby tree. Edible things in this forest were rare, the trees didn't bear fruit like they used to. She moved under it and reached a hand up to grab it.

"Ow!" She let out a sharp cry as an arrow lodged itself in the branch, scraping the skin on her palm as it whizzed by. She cradled her bleeding hand and looked back at the shadowy part of the clearing the arrow had traveled from.

"Sorry," A voice that did not sound sorry at all spoke up, "I'm hungry, and I'll be needing that."

She scowled, "I'm hungry, too." As if the sight of her bony and meatless body weren't enough proof of that!

The man who was speaking to her stepped through the trees into what little light made it through to the forest floor. A cocky smile sat on the face of a tan young man, his night-black hair was thick and pulled back into a wild ponytail, held in place with a scrap of leather. In his well-toned arms he held a bow and another arrow, poised to strike.

"Alright, so we're both hungry." He said, "But I'm bigger and stronger, aren't I? There isn't a lot you can do to… I'm sorry, are you green or is that just what the shadows do here?"

The distraction of her skin was all she needed. Bigger and stronger, he said? Well, she would show him. She charged him like a bull; some hidden strength in her bony body pushed through and took him to the ground. Elphaba's hands found the collar of his shirt and tugged it up, her knees pinned into his arms and kept him from raising his weapons.

"Listen you," She spat into his face, "I have plenty of people I need to take that sort of muck from, there are enough people in my life I'm not allowed to talk back to. I won't take any disrespect from you, whoever you are, you will treat me like the Person that I am!"

His eyes were wide with shock and perhaps a twinge of admiration. He sat motionless, his mouth gaping as this small twig of a girl effectively disarmed and pinned him to the forest floor. He tried to search for words.

"What? Nothing to say?" Elphaba barked, "I suggest you stay on the ground while I go eat the only food I'm likely to have today."

She wretched the arrow from his hand and brought herself to her feet, grabbing his holster of spare arrows for good measure. She watched him with caution as she backed up towards the pear tree and plucked it from its branches. Still scowling, she took her first bite, his weapons dropped at her feet.

"I haven't had anything to eat in a while, you know." He said eventually, "I can't be held accountable for what my stomach makes me do. There's nothing to hunt here."

Elphaba gave him an apathetic stare, "Most of the things here hunt you."

"Including the unassuming green women, it seems. What are you, some sort of tree demon?"

Elphaba cackled bitterly, "I'm just a girl, I'm sorry if it hurts your masculinity that I was able to knock you down. It's your own fault for being an ass."

"You could at least share that with me."

Elphaba took a large chunk of fruit in her teeth to mock him, "Not after you shot at me, you can find your own."

He frowned back at her and quickly adjusted his tone to a more pleasing one, it was clear that he was used to his charm winning people over and he was trying it on her, "My name is Fiyero, can I know yours?"

She began chewing on the core in lieu of answering him.

He rolled his eyes and settled back down into the dirt, "I can't imagine you have many friends. Why are you green?"

"That's a rude question."

Fiyero stood up and she stiffened. He held his arms out in a defeated gesture to let her know he meant no harm. She continued to stare at him in suspicion. He scoffed at her and moved closer, "Give me my arrows back." After receiving silence from her he added a wry "Please."

Elphaba finished up the fruit, wiping the juice on the hem of her torn skirt, "Will you try to shoot at me again?"

"Probably yes, you're very annoying."

She waved an arrow in his direction, making herself look as dangerous as possible, "You're not making a good case for yourself. I could leave you in the woods to die with no protection if you keep that up." She enjoyed the look of frustration growing on his face. He drew closer, about ready to start round two on their fight. Their faces were inches from each other.

He was ready to answer when a crow cawed above the pair. Elphaba cursed and looked up toward the noise. The crow cawed again, a warning to her.

"Shit," She said to herself, "I've got more important things to do than this!"

She abandoned her station and reached for her bucket, launching herself through a thicket of trees.

"Wait!" He called after her.

"Ugh, what?" She snapped at him.

He stood before her dumbly, not bothering to reach for his arrows after all that nonsense they had just gone through, "Where are you going? Hey! We're not finished here!"

She shook her head at him and turned to pursue her groceries. She heard him protest once more before he fell out of earshot. She tried to convince herself that the stranger who called himself Fiyero had not been very handsome. She would spend the rest of the day convincing herself of that and hoping that she would not meet him again. Unfortunately for Elphaba, their paths would cross many more times.

 **~oz THREE zo~**


	4. The Good Witch Arrives

**(Hey all! I keep forgetting to write authors notes at the top of these. Just wanted to say that I'm glad you're all enjoying this one!)**

 **~oz FOUR zo~**

The wildflowers sat at the bottom of the bucket, she had only found a handful that would pass inspection. She knew the Witch would not be happy but she was used to whatever the woman could dish out as punishment. Pain was so engrained into her life she hardly noticed it anymore. She took the long way back, the empty dirt paths on the outskirts of town where it was rare to encounter anyone. Her bare feet were covered in dirt and every now and then she would stub her toe on a rock but she told herself the solitude was worth the unpaved journey.

The light above her was fading and the town was likely dying down for the night. The Witch would be free to roam soon, the people tended to hide. Elphaba remembered when the woman had first arrived in Munchkinland, it had been in the daylight. She had resembled a human back then, she hadn't let the magic change her yet.

The mansion was coming into view now and Elphaba sped up to reach it. She had to be back by dark.

There was something new decorating the front steps, _someone_ new. A broad white hat covered much of the new person but Elphaba could see a tiny waist wrapped a white silk skirt down to the ankles and trim legs standing upon delicate blue heels. A suitcase sat next to her.

The ragged girl approached the figure with curiosity and immediate distain.

"Can I help you?" She said.

The girl turned around, wide blue eyes meeting Elphaba's. They grew wider at the sight of the green girl but adjusted quickly, "Oh. Hello, I am…" She teetered nervously, "I am Galinda Upland- I'm sorry, I'm Glinda Upland."

She extended her manicured hand and Elphaba stared at it, it was clear the girl had no idea she was talking to property.

Glinda continued, "I was sent by the Wizard to spend summer recess here."

A spark of anger fired up inside Elphaba, "The Wizard?"

She clearly recalled the Witch's arrival in Munchkinland, the speech she had given to Frexspar as Elphaba eavesdropped from behind the library doors. The Wizard had sent her, too… " _For the protection of the people and to ensure compliance with the Wizard's rule."_

"Yes. Is the Lady of the House in? I've been knocking on the door but I've had no answer." Glinda gestured towards the front door.

Elphaba pushed the door open, "There's no need to knock."

Glinda let out a surprised "Oh!" and followed the green girl through the threshold. She was quite bad at containing her shock at the sight of the interior, it was foreboding and it still gave Elphaba shivers every now and then.

"Oh goodness, this is… Unexpected."

Elphaba pursued through the main hall, making for the table that had been overturned this afternoon. It was still upside down; all the mess was right where she'd left it. She turned it right side up and began sweeping at the glass that still lay at her feet. Glinda followed soon after, peeking her head around a corner, her suitcase in hand.

"Do you happen to know where the Mistress of the House is?"

Elphaba raised an eyebrow, "The Witch?"

Glinda was taken aback, "Madame Morrible."

There was a clamor from the other room and a crow cawed. Something sounded like an explosion as shutters were ripped open and then there was a great, heavy silence.

"It sounds like she's left for the night." Elphaba said, indifferently.

Glinda's kitten heel stomped into the ground, "What in Oz is going on here? This is absolutely unacceptable! This is no way to treat a guest, least of all me. She's been here all day and kept me knocking for an hour! Who leaves their home from the top floor and who keeps a place as filthy as this? Where are all the servants?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes as she swept away the last of the glass shards, "I'm the only one, I'm afraid. What did you call her, was it Madame Horrible? I never knew she had a name. I think you'll find that she's changed quite a bit."

"Morrible." Glinda corrected her, studying the rotting wood and the fabrics pierced with moth holes, "What do you mean she's changed?"

Elphaba gave the girl a sympathetic gaze, as cynical as she was she felt badly for the poor creature. She looked like a deer that had just lost it family.

"You'll see for yourself when she returns, she'll be back sometime before sunrise." She reached into a cabinet and produced several glass jars to replace the shattered ones.

"Oh, I won't want to bother her, I'm sure she'll be too tired to speak to me." Her hand was over her racing heart as she continued to explore with hesitance.

Elphaba laughed, "Don't worry, she doesn't sleep anymore."

Glinda gazed back at her, horror struck again, "What has she become?"

Elphaba laid the collected flowers out on the table, prepared for the Witch's inspection when she returned, "You'll see soon enough."

 **~oz FOUR zo~**


	5. The Second Encounter

**(Sorry this update took a while; I've been running around busy with all sorts of nonsense. Thank you for the continuous support of this story, I love reading your reactions to everything! I hope you continue to enjoy it.)**

 **~oz FIVE zo~**

Elphaba heard a creak on the staircase above her. She groaned into the pile of torn pillows and blankets that made her bed and looked up. The blue heels crept their way down the steps of the basement to reach Elphaba's level. The sun was up, just barely, Elphaba felt a lurch in her stomach as she realized she'd slept in. She hopped to her feet and kicked a blanket back in place, reaching for a rag to tie over her mop of hair.

"Pardon me," Glinda's inevitable descent ended at the bottom step, "Miss… Miss Green Girl."

Elphaba studied her, her eyes were red and puffy, "If you need to call me something, call me Elphaba. Certainly don't call me 'miss'." She pondered over the state of the blonde girl; "I see you've met _her_ this morning."

Glinda burst into tears, dropping herself to sit on the staircase, "She does not look well! She barely spoke to me, barely croaked out my name before shuffling off to study that book. She used to be so lovely."

Elphaba snorted so hard that Glinda's head snapped up, "Pardon me, why is this funny?"

Elphaba held back an eye roll; "Lovely does not describe her, even before she turned herself into _that._ "

Glinda shook her head; "You just don't know her like I do. She used to tutor me in sorcery when I was very young, before she left. She always had kind words for me, I was her protégé."

"She executed my father on the steps of this mansion." Elphaba said flatly.

Glinda's whole body paused, her eyes gone wide like they had when she saw the interior for the first time. All she could manage was a small, "Oh."

Elphaba's temper flared up, "Where did you think the Governor of Munchkinland went after she decided to take over? Did you think he gave a tip of his hat and conceded his rule with no fight?"

Glinda glanced down into her pearly hands, "I suppose I never thought of that. So you are…"

"The Eminent Thropp, heir to the piles of cobwebs and mold above us. Look at all the good your Wizard's rule has done for me." She gave a mocking curtsey with her ragged dress for emphasis.

Struck speechless, Glinda could only fiddle nervously with her dress. Elphaba pushed past her to the top of the stairs, she had delayed the day long enough. At the top of the stairs she turned back to see the girl shaking before composing herself with a deep breath. Elphaba hated her. She hated the innocence in her eyes, the good and consequence free life she had lived before arriving here. She resented the silk skirts and the bespoke jewelry, the way the girl had learned to carry herself like a lady. Elphaba's calloused hands looked like that of a trolls when compared, the bags under her eyes and scars on her arms were more prevalent now with that ray of light standing near her.

The woman she now knew as Madame Morrible, though it was still odd to think of her as anything but the Witch, greeted her that morning. As she suspected the greeting was not pleasant. After the morning's chores had been completed she was sent running out of the house with a sizeable burn mark on her arm. It seemed she wouldn't be allowed any rest till all those ingredients were recovered.

She took the long way out of town again; it was best to avoid a visit to Nessa today. She didn't like to go too often, she preferred to keep her visits sparse to avoid suspicion. She had carried her sister out of the mansion on her back to hide her all those years ago and she wouldn't have all that hard work be for naught.

Reaching the woods was easy enough but her stomach was queasy at the sight of the foreboding branches. A hand reached into the pocket of her apron, she had remembered her knife today.

Wildflowers would continue to be her focus today but if she happened upon some sage that would be a nice surprise. She headed again for that clearing from the other day, the pear tree might have another fruit today.

"Hey!" A voice shouted from not too far away and she realized she had been stupid for returning to the same spot.

Fiyero jumped down from his station in the branches and rounded on her like he was sizing up his prey, "I was hoping I wouldn't see your face today."

"Why? Nervous you'll lose another fight?"

He scoffed, "Your skin caught me off guard, that wont happen again."

Her hand gripped the knife in her pocket, "Lets test that theory."

A roar in the distance froze the both of them. Monstrous paws pounded into the dirt of the clearing, a creature that looked almost like a bear and almost like a tiger stepped into view. Its fur was ragged and oily, its head hung so low from its hunched shoulders that its neck seemed broken off its spine. Teeth bared at the pair and eyes shone bright with a rabid hunger. This was one of the things Elphaba had heard stories about.

Fiyero's hand moved slowly into his quiver for an arrow. Elphaba's fingers welded themselves to the dull kitchen knife. The two stared at the beast, barely breathing. The beast stared back and Elphaba could see her doom in its eyes.

 **~oz FIVE zo~**


	6. The Tree and What It Grew

**(Surprise! Wow, look at that hiatus. I feel like I owe you guys some sort of explanation as to why this keeps happening. Basically, I am an actress, that is my profession. No, I'm not a famous one or even a mildly successful one. I have two day jobs to keep me going financially in between plays and films and those keep me busy enough. So when I get cast in something it leaves little time in between to write, hence the hiatuses. I am really sorry that this keeps happening, its never my intention to leave people hanging. I recently saw the Broadway production of Wicked for the 5th time a few weeks ago [hay hay two time lottery winner] and it always reminds me why I love writing these silly fanfics and reminds me why I chose to pursue a career in the arts in the first place. #castmeasglindagoddammit.)**

 **~Oz SIX zO~**

Their feet smashed into the ground as they ran, fallen leaves crunching beneath their toes. Elphaba's legs were trembling from the distance she had traversed; they had probably run a few miles deeper into the forest by now. The arrow that Fiyero had fired stuck out of the beast at a sharp angle, doing nothing to slow it down. Another arrow whizzed by but missed the wildcat by quite a few inches.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" He snapped as his next arrow hit a tree, "I can't do this while I'm running!"

"So _stop_ , you're making it angrier!"

Ahead of them Elphaba could see a great oak tree with a sturdy base, had to be at least a few hundred years old. Branches hung low enough that she decided she could grab one and hoist herself up to a safe height. Good timing, too, her legs were ready to give out.

She heard a great roar as the animal gained on them and took it as her cue to leap. She caught a branch with her twiggy arms and pushed up. She wrapped her legs around the limb and steadied herself, the beast a short distance away. Her branch was still too low; it could snatch her if it tried. Beneath the tree her companion was attempting to crawl up the same branch. He slipped down and his toes grazed the grass. Despite herself, she reached a hand toward him and took his forearm. She yanked him up with the same surprising strength that had tackled him down not too long ago.

The animal was upon them now. Its claws reached up and scratched at the branch and their ankles but they managed their way to a higher branch and out of its range. Elphaba let out a howl of relief and collapsed against the trunk as the thing that chased them growled and circled their perch.

Fiyero caught his breath and stared down at the forest floor where his quiver of arrows had fallen during his climb, "Wonderful. I've nothing to kill that thing with."

"So let it be, it will go to sleep or get bored soon."

"How soon is soon?" He asked, still staring at the fallen weaponry.

"Give it a few hours." Her eyes rolled at his impatience.

He was appalled at that answer, his mouth gaped and his brows furrowed in a way that suggested that he wasn't used to not getting his way, "So we're stuck in this tree together for a while?"

"Unless I push you off of it."

He smirked, "I don't think you can beat me twice."

They passed an hour or so in silence after that. Elphaba took to staring out at the tree line; the dark canopies that surrounded them were thick with dark and dying leaves. It seemed that everything in this forest had died since the Witch arrived. She began thinking of her father then; the way she had spied on his first exchange with the witch and refused her demands. Refused to comply with the Wizard. She remembered the way his life had been sapped from him with nothing more than a flick of the woman's wrist in front of the entire city.

"Hey, you." She heard Fiyero speak softly for the first time since they'd met.

She turned to him with a scowl and met his eye; he turned his gaze away from her as though he was saying something difficult, "Thank you for pulling me up the tree."

Elphaba deepened her scowl, "I don't enjoy watching people die, no matter how rude they are."

He chuckled at that, "Alright, the pear incident was a little rough. I'm not used to being hungry."

"You seemed pretty comfortable with threatening an unarmed woman."

"Well I'm not used to the word no, either."

Elphaba studied him for a moment, arms still crossed, "I don't get what sort of hunter you are."

He smiled at her, "You don't know who I am, do you? This is a new experience for me, you're a rare breed."

Her head cocked, "I'm confused, am I supposed to know who you are?"

"Most young women have at least heard of me."

She gave an indifferent shrug and went back to studying the trees. To him she made an etheric sight though she had no way of knowing that. The rag wound around her head had fallen in their chase, leaving her tangled black hair to curl around her sharp face. She was covered in grime and her cheeks were still flushed from the run but it did nothing to make her less enchanting. There was something inhuman about her; something otherworldly that had caught his attention. He said none of this, of course. He kept silent and shook it off as nothing but being shocked at her skin.

The sky crackled above them suddenly. Elphaba's head shot up to stare through the thicket of trees where the clouds began to darken. She let out a groan, "Oh Ozma, I don't know what I did to deserve a day like this."

Another crackle of lightning followed closely by a boom of thunder and the rain began to drop. Slowly at first, it dripped through the canopy of leaves and began to hit the pair on the head. Fiyero groaned in discomfort, too. He watched her wince as the droplets hit her bare arms and a small spark of chivalry lit up inside him.

"Take my hunting jacket," He offered it to her, nudging it closer when she tried to ignore it, "I insist. You've barely got anything on."

She scowled again but begrudgingly snatched it from his hand and wound it about her shoulders just as the rain began to pour heavily. The hood fit snugly over her damp head and she shivered gratefully.

"Thank you." She said in as bitter a tone as she could muster.

He frowned and bit at his lip as the rain drenched his skin and the white cotton shirt he wore, "It's the least I could do."

She huddled as close as she could into the jacket; it fit a good portion of her lithe frame even if her legs stuck out a little. She was grateful for the shelter and grateful for the boy who had offered it to her. Despite herself, she had found a small comfort in the jacket of a very rude man.

 **~oz SIX zo~**


End file.
